Method of and means for production of steel ingots



METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PRODUCTION OF STEEL INGOTS Filed Aug. 8, 1957March 28, 1961 J. O. GRIGGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mergo 1.15157! Q 57' s.

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2,976,586 I METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PRODUCTION OF STEEL INGOTS FiledAug. 8, 1957.

March 28, 1961 J. o. GRIGGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 28, 1961 J. o. GRIGGS2,976,586

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PRODUCTION OF STEEL INGOTS Filed Aug. 8, 1957 3Shets-Sheet 5 I T .5. )1 fl :L 7 :-J

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PRODUCTION OF STEEL lNGOTS John 0. Griggs, 1815Halsted St., Chicago Heights, 111.

Filed Aug. 8, 1957, Ser. No. 676,983

6 Claims. (Cl. 22-61) My invention relates to apparatus for and methodof the continuous casting of steel ingots and the transporting of steelingots into a blooming mill thus doing away with the usual soaking pitor reheating of the ingots after they have been poured and cooled to asufficiently solid condition so that they can be handled for furtherprocessing purposes.

The primary object of my invention is apparatus for and method of thecasting of ingots which cool rapidly upon being poured into a mold, themold stripped therefrom while the ingots retain sufiicient latent heatfor rolling purposes and as soon as the ingots are stripped, while stillhot, they are transported into a blooming mill or into the first pass ofa series of rollers for conversion into articles of commerce such asbeams, or other steel shapes.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of meanswhereby, should the rolling operation be temporarily suspended and someof the ingots which are in the casting process become cooled underrolling temperature that such ingots can be reheated sufficiently to berolled by the blooming mill or by other rolls for shaping purposesthereby preserving the ingot into workable form without the aid ofsoaking pits.

In the modern common practice of producing steel articles, the steelfrom the open hearth furnaces or other steel making vessels is pouredinto a heavy ingot mold of substantial size and of various shapesusually rectangular or round and in some cases all shapes are fluted onthe inside. The molds are placed on cast iron stools which ride on ingotbuggies and delivered to the stripper cranes. After the ingots are castinto the molds they are frequently delayed in reaching the soaking pitsdue to many things that happen in the ordinary way that is now employedin doing this job. For example: In many cases due to the fact that openhearth furnaces or any other steel making process cannot operate theirfurnaces to tap at a certain time, therefore, when heats become buncheda great portion of the ingots cannot be handled to the soaking pits ontime, consequently, the ingots are allowed to cool in the ingot moldswhich not only necessitate longer heating periods but shortens the ingotmold life. By moving the steel molding vessels to the point of rollingwould eliminate the tremendous amount of rolling equipment that is nownecessary to transport the steel ingots from the open hearth or steelmaking vessels to the soaking pits.

In the casting of the ingots as above disclosed, the ingots are cast inan upright position and in the case of thoroughly deoxidized steel a hottop is used on top of the ingot mold to afford approximately 15% excessmetal on top of the ingot. This excess metal in the hot top is for thepurpose of feeding the cavities that are left by the evolution of gases.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of thecasting or ingots in desired multiples of such size to produce a desiredfinal form and in such manner that the gases escape without leavingcavities in the ingot and in which the volume is such thatsolidification will be almost instantaneous, the metaloids willimmediately become fixed, and not cause trouble bebause of segregationand the practice of hot topping is eliminated resulting in producing alarger amount of usable steel per heat with increased production atlower cost.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of a splitmold into which the molten steel is deposited and in which the moltensteel cools rapidly and in which the mold can be separated and easilystripped from the ingot thus formed in such manner that the ingot isdeposited upon a series of conveying rollers for transmitting it to theblooming or rolling mill.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of apparatusby means of which the molds can be easily and quickly brought intoposition for receiving the molten metal and after the molten metal isdeposited therein, can be separated thereby stripping the sections ofthe mold from the slab of metal thus formed therein and allowing it todrop upon conveying rollers to p be transported to the rolling mill forshaping operations.

These and other objects of my invention will be better and more fullyunderstood by reference to the accompanying drawings and in which-Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved casting and transportingapparatus;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 andshowing in addition a ladle for depositing molten steel into a mold;

Figure 3 is a side view somewhat diagrammatic in form of the apparatusshown in Fig. '1 with the mold handling and separating device eliminatedtherefrom;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the molds used in carrying outmy invention;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the mold shown in Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the mold shown in Figs. 4 and 5;and

Figure 7 is a sectional view transversely of the mold.

Referring now specifically to the drawings and in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, a roller bed designated as awhole as it is shown of the usual form having a plurality of side rails11, 11 which are supported by spaced support members 12, 12 and haverolls 13, 13 mounted thereon in spaced relation with each other whichrolls may be loosely mounted and disconnected from each other in theside rails 11, 11 or may be collectively operated by power means such asa power shaft 14 having gears 15, 15 thereon which mesh with other gears16, 16 on the ends of the rolls 13, 13. Spaced casting stationsdesignated as 17, 17 are provided which comprises horizontal frames 18,18 supported by vertical frames 19, 19 at each side of the bed It) inwhich a plurality of spaced rolls 20, 20 are provided over which moldsdesignated as 21, 21 are manipulated during the casting of the ingots.

The molds 21, 21 comprise two sections, 22 and 23 generally rectangularin form and each of said sections having cavities 24, 24 therein whichare open'at the adjacent sides 25 and 26 of each of the mold sections 22and 23. The mold section 22 has a half elliptical shaped opening 27 inits upper side while the mold section 23 has a corresponding halfelliptical shaped opening 28 therein, the Openings 27 and 28, whenfitted together, form an elliptical shaped opening which extendsentirely across the combined cavities 24, 24 in the moldsections 22 and23 and provides a pour opening in the mold sections of sufficient widthso that molten metal' can be poured into the mold sections to fill thecavities 24, 24 within the mold sections and yet permit air, gas, or thelike, to escape during the pouring operation so that the cavities can becompletely filled with molten Ice Patented Mar. 28, 1961 metal, and noother openings to the cavities 24, 24 are necessary to permit the escapeofair, gas, or the like, from the mold. Lugs 29 and 30 are cast on theouter sidesof the sections 22 and 23 which lugs have overhanging angleportions 31 and-32-thereon under-which manipulating heads 33 and 34- arefitted which heads 33 and 34 are mounted upon threaded shafts 35-and 36which extend through support members 37, 37'on,each side of the roll bedIt and are connected with suitable electric motors 38, 38 by means ofwhich the shafts 35 and 36 are moved inward and outward thereby movingthe mold sections 22 and 23 into molten metal receiving position andalso in an outward direction stripping the mold from the metal ingotfo-rmed therein as will be hereinafter described. The mold sections aresupported in sliding engagement with the rolls13, 13 on the roller bedand inrolling engagement with the rollers Zii, 20 during their inwardand outward movement as they aremoved into operative position to receive.the. molten metal and outward as they arestrippedfrom theingot castwithin the mold. A ladle 39 is provided which is suspended from aconveyor track. 40, theladle having a discharge opening 41 in thebottomthereof with a refractory sleeve 42 being provided which has an openingv43 in the lower end thereof adjacent to the discharge opening 41 with anelongated stopper 44 being-mounted therein which is connected to a lever45 mounted upon the ladle 39 by a bracket 46, theouter end of the. lever45 being connected to an arm 47, which in .turn, is connected to apivotally mounted lever 48 which provides means by which the stoppermember 44is moved within the refractory sleeve for the opening andclosing of the discharge opening 41 in the bottom of the ladle. 39.

A reheating furnace 49 is provided which is open at each of its ends andhas guillotine type doors 50 and .51 thereon which act as closuremembers, the reheating furnace 4 being located in the bed 10 and inalinement with the ingot 52 which passes over the rolls 13, 13 and isprovided for the purpose of reheatingthe ingots after they are cast inthe molds, should the rolling operation be suspended'for a period oftimeso that the ingots which have already been cast lose so much oftheir heat that they cannot be rolled without being reheated. A U-shapedpusher 53 is provided which has a lower pushing arm 54 thereon whichpusher can be raised out of the path of the ingot and lowered so thatthejarrrr54 may enter the furnace to push the ingot out of the furnaceand on to the rolls l3 beyond the heatingfurnace and between theblooming mill or the entrance to the rolling mills. This pusher may besuspended from aframe and be used for the entire transporting of theingot 52 over the rolls after it has been east through the heatingfurnace 49 and into the blooming mill, or the initial setof rolls as maybe desired.

In the operation of the device, theingot molds 21 are placed in positionwhere they are engaged by the heads 33 and 34 engaging the side sections22 and 23 under the overhanging portions 31 and 32 of the lugs 29 and 30with the mold sections being supported upon the rolls 20, 20 on eachside of the roller bed and the mold sections manipulated to closedposition, in which position the ladle 39 is brought into position so thedischarge opening 41 therein is spotted over the mold above the intakeopenings 27 and 28 whereupon the-operator, by manipulating the lever 48,raises the plug 44 out of the opening 41 and permits the molten steel tofiow'from the ladle into the openings 27 and 28- to fill the cavities24,; 24 in the mold 21 to a point where the mold is completely filledwith molten steel when the flow from the ladle is shut off. The moltensteel entering themold cools very rapidly and becomes sufiicientlyhardto retain its shape and once this occurs, the members 37, 37 areactuated reversely to the closing operation which pulls the .moldsections 22 and 23 apart. permitting the ingot 52 to drop on to thevrolls 13, 13 where it is normally movedthrough the reheating furnace andtransported N! 4 either by manual movement or by the pusher 53, or bythe combined use of the pusher 53and the motor mounted rolls directlyinto the blooming mill which commences the rolling operation and whichcan be thereupon completed to the desired shape and form of thestructure desired.

I prefer two stations for, filling the molds as shown particularly inFig. 1 of the drawings whereby the ladle 391 can be moved to eitherstation for the filling of the molds and in this way, the production ofthe steel ingots or billets of the desired size can be continuous andthe steel remains in the molds a sufiicient length of time so it becomescool enough to be handled on the rolls and yet retains sufiicient latentheat to enable it to be worked in the rolling mill without-the necessityof reheating in soaking pits in the practice which is now usuallyfollowed. By having two stations, the ingots can be produced rapidlyenough so that the rolling mill is kept continuously supplied withingots of suitable size and shape depending upon the size of the'moldsfor the finished product desired.

In actual operation of the apparatus, if two mold sections are used, themold section nearest the reheating furnace should be-operated first, aningot cast, and cooled for a few seconds while an ingot is cast at thesecond station. The first-cast ingot is then stripped and started on itsway to the rolls. The second ingot is thereupon stripped and the ingotmoved toward the rolls while the mold sections are separated at thefirst station so as to permit the second cast ingot to pass over theroller bed toward the rolling mill. When the ingot has passed thisstation,- the molds can be closed and the operation repeated.

While we have described more or less precisely the details ofconstruction, we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselvesthereto, as :We contemplate changes in form and the proportion of partsand the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest orrender expedient without departing from the spirit or scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a roller bed, sectional ingot molds thereon,means associated with the roller bed whereby sections of the mold may bemoved toward each other thereby forming a complete mold for receivingmolten steel and moved away from each other thereby stripping the moldsections from the ingot formed therein and permitting the ingot thusformed to drop onto the said roller bed, and a movable molten steelladle over the said mold whereby molten steel may be deposited in thesaid molds.

2. In combination with a main roller bed, mold handling apparatuscomprising auxiliary roller beds at the sides of the main roller bed,frames on each side of the main roller bed, movable shafts in saidframes, a mold section on each of said shafts, means whereby the shaftsare moved inward and outward from the main roller bed whereby the moldsections are brought in face-to-face relation with each other upon themain roller bed and moved outward from each other thereby stripping themold sections from an ingot and permitting the ingot to drop onto theroller bed and means whereby molten steel is supplied to the said moldswhile on the main roller bed.

3. In combination with a main roller bed, mold handling apparatusconsisting of auxiliary roller beds on each side of the main roller bed,frames associated with each of said auxiliary roller beds, shaftsmounted in each of said frames having heads on their inner ends, meanswhereby the shafts are moved toward and away from the main roller bed, amold section having a lug on one ofits sides mounted on each of theshafts, the heads on the shafts extending under the said lugs wherebythe mold sections are moved together to form a complete mold and movedaway from each other to strip the mold sections from an ingot formedtherein and means whereby molten steel is poured into the said molds.

4. In combination with a main roller bed, mold handling apparatusconsisting of auxiliary roller beds on each side of the main roller bed,frames associated with each of said auxiliary roller beds, shaftsmounted in each of said frames having heads on their inner ends, meanswhereby the shafts are moved toward and away from the main roller bed, amold section having a lug on one of its sides mounted on each of theshafts, the heads on the shafts extending under the said lugs wherebythe mold sections are moved together to form a complete mold and movedaway from each other to strip the mold sections from an ingot formedtherein, means whereby molten steel is poured into the said molds, and aheating furnace on the main roller bed.

5. In combination with a main roller bed, mold handling apparatusconsisting of auxiliary roller beds on each side of the main bed,sectional mold sections having mold cavities therein open at oneside ofthe mold section, each section having a filling opening therein, thesections, when fitted together, forming a complete ingot mold and meanswhereby the mold sections are moved together to form a complete mold andmoved apart from each other whereby the sections are stripped from theingot formed therein.

6. Aningot mold for use in continuous ingot producing operationsconsisting of complementary sections having cavities therein open alongadjacent sides of the mold sections, ribs on the outer sides of each ofthe mold sections having down-turned portions for engagement withstripping mechanism opposite to the open sides of the cavities under themold sections, each section having a semi-elliptical filling openingtherein in substantial registering positions with each other to form afilling opening for the said mold.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NashApr. 10, 1900 Mueller Apr. 13, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Feb. 2, 1884

